NYSEG Emergency Program Provided $7.43 Million to Nonresidential Customers Hit Hard by Irene or Lee

Binghamton, NY – NYSEG, a subsidiary of Iberdrola USA, has provided $7.43 million of assistance to 158 nonresidential customers in 18 counties that suffered damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee in August and September 2011. The majority of the emergency economic development grants were provided to customers in Broome, Tioga, Delaware, Greene and Ulster counties.

“Our goal was to help as many eligible customers as possible recover from storm and flood damage, and we are proud of the results we achieved,” said Mark S. Lynch, president of NYSEG and RG&E. “Our programs were designed to give customers easy and quick access to grant funding, and by all accounts we succeeded. Customers who received grants were extremely appreciative.”

The programs included:

The Emergency Community/Municipality Assistance Program to help offset the cost of repairing or replacing customer-owned electricity and natural gas infrastructure. Grants up to $100,000 were awarded.

The Emergency Building Redevelopment/Revitalization Assistance Program to help offset recovery costs incurred by commercial and industrial customers as well as larger farms; agri-businesses, including food processing companies; large residential-type establishments; retail and mixed-use development facilities; and educational/medical institutions. Grants up to $200,000 were awarded.

The Emergency Agriculture Assistance Program to help offset the cost of repairing or replacing customer-owned electricity and natural gas infrastructure at smaller farms and agri-businesses. Grants up to $50,000 were awarded.

In October 2011, NYSEG requested and received approval from the New York State Public Service Commission to spend up to $7 million to assist eligible nonresidential customers affected by Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee. In 2012, the company requested and received approval to spend additional economic development funds on the program to accommodate customer needs.

What Grant Recipients Have to Say“We at Holiday Mountain cannot be more grateful for the generous help NYSEG has given to help us through these tough times. In these tough times running a family business can seem almost impossible, but when you see and get the support like we have from the local township, community and local businesses – like NYSEG – it enables you to persevere, and for that help and support I am extremely grateful.” - Craig Passante, President, Holiday Mountain Ski and Fun Park, Monticello

“On behalf of The River House and our Travis Hyde Properties management team, I would like to thank you for all the help we have received through this program. It has allowed us to recover a great portion of the damage to the property, and I think without it, we would still have much work to do. From our experience, it was a very professionally-run program, and certainly much appreciated.” - Jason Henderson, Executive Assistant, Travis Hyde Properties, Binghamton

“I can’t tell you what a great help you have been to me. The business economy of the village has been crushed. Having your help and the help of this program has been a great relief.” - Bradford Noble, Owner, Noble Photography, Owego